Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Dragon Quest 6 is finally releasing in America for the first time. I am very excited about this game, as it completes the entire Dragon Quest saga for me. I don't know if a re-release of DQ7 will happen, so this could possibly be the last re-released Dragon Quest title we'll see for a while. (I certainly wouldn't mind if Square-Enix went a step further, and made a remake of the first three games on the DS.) The game releases February 14, 2011. I'm definitely going to be getting it - and I hope it proves to be a success in sales.

This game, when it was released in Japan in 1995 sold 3.2 million copies, even though it featured a higher price of 11,970 Yen, or roughly $100! That's how insanely popular this series is - and it deserves the high praise. Dragon Quest has always remained the pinnacle of classic RPG gaming - and I'd urge anyone who hasn't tried the series to maybe give this version a go.

UPDATE: I was surprised when I got my new issue of Wizard Magazine, which featured an ad for DQ6. See, the name has been changed from Realms of Reverie into Realms of Revelation. Reverie means day dreaming. The original Japanese title was Dragon Quest VI: Land of Illusion (ドラゴンクエストVI 幻の大地 Doragon Kuesuto Shikkusu Maboroshi no Daichi) Reverie sounds like a good translation. But I think Square-Enix must have figured no one in America would even know what Reverie meant. (I sure didn't! I just looked it up. I thought it was the name of a place in the game.) Ultimately it doesn't matter - Revelation fits in well enough too.

The Plot

Here's what was written on Wikipedia about the game and the story:

The story follows the traditional Dragon Quest "Hero" on a quest to save the world. In this particular installment, the heroes also have to endure the personal struggle of amnesia, as many of the main characters do not initially remember who they are. After completing a series of quests, the player learns that in addition to a Real World, there is also a Dream World, made up of people's dreams, and that there is a great evil that wants to conquer both. The Hero and his new party work together to save both worlds from the ever-growing threat.

The Characters

Here are some descriptions and images of the main characters

The Hero is the main character of Dragon Quest VI. He comes from the small town of Lifecod (Raifukoddo), however, he is actually the prince of Somnia (Reidokku in the Japanese version), which he learns late in the game. Unlike each of the other "Heroes" in previous Dragon Quest games, this Hero does speak- he does so while meeting his clone, and in sequences within Lifecod at that time. The Hero is joined by other characters he meets along his journey. While he has no official name in the game, he was named Botsu in the manga based on the game.

Carver (Hassan in the Japanese version) meets up with the Hero at Somnia. Carver is the natural fighter of the party and the son of carpenters. After regaining his memory, Carver learns that he is from Port Haven (San Mariinō in the Japanese version), where his parents recognize him. At first, he does not believe them, but after visiting Murdaw, he remembers his past.

Milly (Mirēyu in the Japanese version) joins the Hero and Carver because she can see them in the Real World. She is the typical cleric of the group, and specializes in healing and supportive magic. Before meeting the Hero, she lived with her fortune telling grandmother, Grandmaz.

Nevan (Chamoro) joins the party next. He is a cleric from Gent village (Gento), specializing in healing magic. He is also the only one that can steer the Divine Ship for the party.

Ashlynn (Barubara in the Japanese version) joins the group in the Mirror Tower, where she is trying to find a way to make herself visible to those around her. She casts magic like Milly, but uses mostly fire-based attack magic. She hails from Sorceria (Karuberōna in the Japanese version), a village known for its strong magic. Before the party reaches Sorceria, Ashlynn's past remains very mysterious.

Terry is the final character to join the party, after appearing as an enemy for part of the game. He is a knight who defeats the monster terrorizing Arcbolt (Ākuboruto), just before the party does, thus gaining the reward. He joins the Hero's party after the battle with Duran and reveals that he is Milly's brother.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Anyone watch the Daily Show last night? Finale episode of the year - and they dedicated it to a more serious subject -- asking why Congress couldn't pass a much needed 9/11 First Responders Bill. It has no political attachments; payed for by fixing a tax loophole, it's a complete win-win for everyone. Jon had a round table discussion with actual First Responders, all who are suffering from debilitating and deadly diseases due to their exposure to toxic fumes in Ground Zero. This bill would give them benefits; benefits they desperately need. Only the Daily Show has actually been talking about it. This is shameful to every News network who hadn't talked about it (I count you, DON'TYOUDAREBUILDAMOSQUE-Foxnews!) It's just a shame to see a comedian, Jon Stewart, actually filling in for the abdicated roll real journalists have abandoned.

And it's even more shameful how the Republicans blocked this bill, until the Bush Era Tax Cuts become official. Your not winning back my vote anytime soon.

My Father still remains out of work during these horrid economic times; and I am grateful that his unemployment will likely continue because of the deal the Republicans and Obama reached regarding the Bush Era Taxes. But there is still no excuse for the Republicans to have held up this 9/11 First Responders Bill. I consider myself a Republican, but stuff like this... The Republicans are not getting my vote back anytime soon.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Japan has seemingly jumped into the future -- as people are going to concerts of a Computer Generated Singer/Hologram! Hatsune Miku, a blue haired anime girl is actually a computer generated singing program called Vocaloid. Her Avatar, though, was able to be projected onto a concert stage using an updated version of an old method, something called Pepper's Ghost Illusion. Even from a youtube video, it looks like a pretty darn good illusion. You can see concert goers on either side of the stage, with Miku moving in-between them - so it wasn't something just projected onto a screen.

Miku has apparently been rising in popularity in Japan with a cult following. The Vocaloid Technology isn't exactly catching on over here in the US, but maybe exposure like this might peek some company's interest.

It looks like a really fun experience for concert goers - and you can see the song on this video here. It's actually very good and catchy. Not bad for a piece of software.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Spider-Man has been swinging high these past few years. Ever since "Brand New Day" the series has changed into a thrice-monthly title, with a rotating collection of writers and artists. Usually that might spell complete disaster, but it become one of those rare collaborative moments where, if you didn't look at the writer listed, you might not immediately know who was writing. It was all one seamless voice, with an explosion of new ideas being tossed into the Spidey-Mythos every month. It was, pun intended, Amazing! The writing, art, - the whole general direction of Spider-Man seemed to be back on course, after so many long years trying to find it's way back. Brand New Day began after Marvel finally decided to make Peter Parker single again. The Devil arranged the divorce, magically making it as if Spider-Man and Mary Jane where never married. It was a very painful decision on Marvel's part - and it riled up a huge hornets nest worth of readers utterly critical of the decision. My take on the whole affair? I think they did the right thing. When he was married to Mary Jane, Spider-Man's cast of characters instantly shrunk! I can't speak from experience, but it does seem like married people tend to focus more inward on building their family. You can't go galavanting around bars, or be in the hip social scene, when you're trying to actually work on your marriage. Spider-Man's world simply shrunk, to the point where his entire supporting cast where MJ, Aunt May, and Tony Stark. (His employer, at the time) For a series that thrived so much on the soap-opera life of all of Spider-Man's many supporting characters - it was just death to the series.

I only delve into this to help explain how utterly refreshing it was when Brand New Day began - that Spider-Man's world was suddenly populated by more friends and acquaintances than we ever knew could exist in a Spider-Man comic. That, plus the superb writing and art, simply made for some of the best Spider-Man stories since the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Days.

Now the era of Brand New Day has come to and end, and the formula is changing a bit. The series is now going to be twice a month ($4, extra-sized issues) with Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos as the creative team. I've always considered Dan Slott to be the leader of the group of Spider-Writers, so he made sense to be sole voice of Peter Parker from now on. Humberto Ramos is a good artist, but his extreme stylized art may be off-putting to many. (I have the sneaking suspicion he might have been picked as artist because he can produce art quicker. Though I may be totally wrong. I do believe other artists are due to come on the book later on)

Anyway, this first issue under Slott and Humberto's stewardship is simply a fantastic first start. Everything good from Brand New Day is still here - the continuing plot-lines, like Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and he reconsiliation with his wife Marla. Since May Parker married into the Jameson family (she married Jonah's father, making him and Peter hilariously related!), so she wants to make sure there is no bad blood between them and help Peter get a new job. (He was unceremoniously fired for doctoring a photo, which was revealed by Mayor Jameson, black-balling Peter in NYC.) Peter is introduced to a Google-like bussiness, which offers Peter the dream job of a life-time. No set work hours, plenty of perks, and he's able to use his genius brain and mess around with super science. It's always a nice change of pace to see the Parker luck change in Peter's favor every once in awhile. And Dan Slott does an excellent job of making you feel just as elated for Peter as he does for himself.

This is a perfect jumping on-point for readers, as this is pretty much a whirl-wind tour of Peter's current life. You get to see him in action with the Avengers, you get to see Doctor Octopus planning his exquisite revenge - you get to see Peter look for a place to crash after loosing his apartment. (His new job takes care of that later on) There are some truly great character beats along the way, like when Peter shows up at Mary Jane's door pretty much asking "can I live here for a while". They both fall into hysterics, poignantly referencing all the hard work that's been done to split them up to begin with. Such a scene, I can only imagine, must be very hard to make work in a comic book. Humor is a very difficult talent to master, and even harder to ensure it comes off effectively in a medium where you neither hear the laughter or control the timing of how a person is reading it. That's why I was so impressed by it - because these two characters both bawling in laughter also made me laugh. That has to be hard thing to pull off, both in writing and art.

While a stupendous first issue, where I definitely felt like I got my money's worth, it wasn't over just yet. An original story, to preview for the new Spider-Girl series, is presented to show us what the new Spider-Girl is all about. It's a fairly decent story, showing Spider-Girl meeting and getting approval from Spider-Man. Nothing too special, but a nice look to see what the Spider-Girl writer and artist can do.

Anyway - I simply can't recommend the current Spider-Man series enough to you. In fact - I recommend you go back and get the last few years worth of issues, all 102 of them! They where that good - and this looks to be just as impressive a run as the last one!

Oh, also, here's a trailer Marvel made to advertise the new run. I'm really beginning to like these little mini-movies. The voice acting has been better, and it's always cool to see comic art come alive.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

James Robinson's re-introduction into the DCU hasn't been an entirely smooth process. For every incredible Mon-El and Jimmy Olsen story - there where plenty of issues that simply didn't pan out as expected. Cry for Justice is probably the best example - as the series under went many transmutations from announcement to actual print - with the end result being very controversial.

Robinson's tenure on the JLA has suffered the same uneasy fate. The actual team line up is nothing like what was originally announced, and the plot-lines have so far been rather lack luster. The recent JLA/JSA team-up became nothing but a plodding plot-line for 6 whole issues - and before that there was confusing foreshadowing, featuring the anti-New Gods and mysterious parts to a machine found throughout time; all of which have made the past year's worth of issues a blur in my mind. This is not to say nothing has been good. If there is one strength James Robinson always delivers on - it's his characterization. He's been making Donna Troy into an exemplary character, rather focusing on her future rather than her convoluted past. Dick Grayson as Batman has also been doing well, being in perfect synch with Donna. The only down-side to these characterizations has been an obscene over-use of dialogue boxes (taking the place of traditional thought bubbles). There where, at some points, 5 different inner monologues taking place at the same time! It was just insane - and another reason Robinson's run on the JLA hasn't been as good as his fabled tenure on Star Man.

All of those problems, though, seemed to vanish in this stellar 50th issue! The team line-up has been stabilized, with a core cast of Batman (Dick Grayson), Donna Troy, Super Girl, Jessie Quick, Jade, Starman (Mikall), and Congo Bill. Not a fault on Robinson's part, but this line-up isn't the fabled big-seven (Superman, Batman, WW, ect); while the series might continue to be ignored by some people because of that fact, Robinson has been using it to his advantage by bringing in lesser known and forgotten heroes and working his magic with them. This issue, especially, hammers out the great characterization that is being formed for these heroes. Jessie Quick's sudden change from the JSA to the JLA is explained more deeply by her experiences during the Blackest Night, and she finds genuine common ground with Supergirl, who has suffered similar personal tragedies. I'm actually always impressed by how Robinson can create these unique insights into characters, seemingly on the fly given the cast shake-ups he's had to suffer by DCU editorial. Simply put - this isn't the big-seven, and Robinson goes out of his way to point that out in their dialogue - but he's finally been able to hammer down a unique and solid line-up that mirrors the big seven.

The mirrored big-seven is further utilized when the JLA face the alternate reality duplicates of the JLA: the Crime Syndicate of Amerika. The CSA have been driven from their alternate Earth and have fled to the regular universe in hopes of saving their Earth. The characterization of Ultra-Man, Owlman, and Superwoman are spot-on, and the complicated past of characters Johnny Quick and Power Ring are simplified. The battle between the JLA and CSA seemed like a classic comic fight - to stellar effect. Mark Bagley's art really shines in this issue, especially in the fights. This extra-sized issue also allowed for some great confrontations between the JLA members and their duel opposites.

Also, the over-use of dialogue boxes I mentioned before? No longer present! The story flows exceedingly better with their exclusion; characterization is not diminished in any way.

Additionally, the confusing elements from over the past year - like the Anti-New Gods and parts of a mysterious machine finally converge - as the machine is turned on by Doctor Impossible. The history and origin of these Anti-New Gods is somewhat explored - but they are still a bit confusing as characters. But their goal is simply stated at the end, as they wish to resurrect Darkseid. What they get, though, is a powerful new foe: Omega Man.

This issue is simply the best improvement to Robinson's JLA - and I am now much more excited to see where this storyline continues. With Bagley's incredible ability to draw so quickly, this extra-sized issue delivers at it's price point of $5. There's no back-up tale written and drawn by someone else - it's simply a larger and bigger issue. It's avery nice change from the recent disappointments with the over-padded anniversary issues DC has been publishing of late. Really, simply, a stellar issue all around.

You can vote for anyone who is an active member of the team. Fans have elected Legion leaders in the past, sometimes to surprising results. Dream Girl, once though to be one of the less useful Legionaries, was voted in by the fans -- but it turned out great, as Dream Girl was given a big boost in character development, making her into a now valued member of the Legion.

For me, I voted for Tyroc. His recent redesign has made him much more fashionably acceptable, and his character could do with some Leadership character improvement.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The NES turns 25 years old recently. X-Play on G4TV has been doing some retrospectives of the that superb gaming machine changed the world of gaming forever. You can find some of their videos on the subject here: X-Play Remembers the NES. Here are also some of my memories about the system.

I remember older kids having the NES before me, and I only got small glimpses of Super Mario Brothers 2. It seemed so out of reach, though, as it was obviously a purchase my Mom and Dad would have to make. And, eventually, I got the NES. My Dad woke me up early in the morning, telling me that Santa had come and help him hook up the system. I totally believed him, and we had a great time investigating the new system.

Super Mario Brothers was, of course, the first game - along with Duck Hunt. I got Dragon Quest (then Dragon Warrior) and it was one of those rare games both my Dad and I both played. He got addicted to it, and I benefited from his early journey and maps he made to help me.

The games that I remember the most where Super Mario Brothers 3 and Mega Man 3. Those games where pinnacle of perfection back then. I recall hours spent drawing and tracing the artwork of Mario and Mega Man from instruction manuals and Nintendo Power. I was that engrossed in the mythology and gameplay of those two games.

I even remember the last game I ever played on the NES: Mega Man 6. I believe it was one of the two final games ever made for the system. So determined not to miss a single Mega Man game, I managed to bring my NES out of storage and revive it just long enough to finish MM6.

The NES had sooo many great childhood memories. Congratulations on reaching 25 years, you scrappy grey box!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I'm not a big fan of MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), but I've occasionally tested them out just to see what I was missing. I tried the Free Trail for World of Warcraft, and while fun - it was simply too consuming for me, in both narrative and functionality. I found Final Fantasy XI much more to my liking - as the story seemed more immediate and it's own unique take on the Final Fantasy genre could be felt and appreciated from the very start. Again, I'm only speaking from a perspective of playing the Demo - but it was a fun week's worth of play before it ended.

So with the next Final Fantasy sequel once again being an MMORPG, I thought it might be worth trying it's demo as well. This review, from Gametrailers.com, certainly explains all of the reason why this game utterly and completely sucks. I'm really just flabbergasted by what an utter mess this game is. This is suppose to challenge the unstoppable juggernaut that is World of Warcraft?! If they had simply taken the original FF XI model and just updated the graphics - it would at least have been a decent game. But every single problem this review details is just incomprehensible, and quite disheartening that a quality game company like Square-Enix would release this kind of crap! And, not only that, but give it the honored spot on the continuing Numbered titles in the Final Fantasy series.

Just, watch the review and prepare to be stunned. I don't know what went wrong with the development of this game, wether it was rushed or mishandled, or it Square-Enix just decided to cut it's losses on an unsuccessful venture -- but it looks like this game is without a doubt the darkest stain on the venerable Final Fantasy series ever released.

To sum it up, in this (and many) rural counties you have to pay a fee for fire service. It's called "Pay to Spray", and because a household forgot to pay, the Fire Department where required by law to let their house burn to the ground. The fire department only came because a neighbor called, not wanting the fire to spread. 3 Pets died in the blaze, as the firemen sat by and watched. The house owner took action into his own hands later on, going to the fire chief and assaulting him. He was arrested and is out on 5000 bond.

---

This has me so mad. What the hell is wrong with these people? One missed payment - and poof, there goes their home! I don't care what the law says - they should not be allowing houses to burn down like this. What the Hell is wrong with these idiots? Have they never heard of collection agencies, leans -- anything but letting a family's home go down in flames. 3 Dogs are dead because of the firemen's inaction. Where's PETA? Would a dead child wake people up to realize how stupid this "Pay to Spray" program is? I know cities are cash strapped, but there simply HAVE to be better ways to handle this then letting fires spread and robbing families of their homes.

@$%!$! Dammit! What the hell is wrong with this world! It makes me want to scream!!!!!!!

If this helps in any way, Tennessee -- I won't ever visit your city for any kind of vacation, event, whatever. I know - a worthless comment from someone who never intended to visit in the first place. But, damn, you just want to jump up and scream at the injustice of it all. They better let the owner off the hook for the assault -- intentionally letting man's house burn down can cause a man too it like that.

So, even though it won't matter - Tennessee is a place I'm going to avoid because of crap like this. There simply has to be a better way than letting an entire family's home burn down over a lousy $75.

Friday, October 1, 2010

I love Doctor Who, one of the most ingeniously written and produced shows. I love comic books as well. So when news of Paul Cornell, master writer who's synonyms with Doctor Who, was going to be writing Action Comics - you'd expect nothing but pure magic! Well, no quite... But it's darn close!

Since Superman is off on his "Super" Walk across the country, Action Comics has continued the theme of the last few years by not having Superman appear in the book. I've actually been fine with that, as I loved Nightwing and Flamebird's tenure on the title. Lex Luther has been doing pretty well with his stint on the title as well. Lex has a pecific mission in this series - and that's to reclaim the power he momentarily possessed during the Blackest Night event. He was made a deputy member of the Orange Lantern Corp, which derives it's power from Avarice. That emotional color of the spectrum has a profound effect on it's user - causing them to constantly want more and more. The greed is just unstoppable, and once the power was taken away from Lex - the craving for power remained. So he's begun searching for the remaining power left over from the Black Lantern rings. To help ground him on this cosmic journey he has constructed a robotic version of Lois Lane. She's the one face Lex can't argue with, apparently, and helps keep him in check when his greed kicks.

This issue takes Lex to the Jungles, where the latest source of former Black Ring energy remains. Someone else, though, found it: Gorilla Grodd. Gorilla Grodd is a great villain, bringing more than brute force to any battle. Not only is he super intelligent, but he's also psychic, and able to rip a person's mind apart along with his body. So when Lex comes into his jungle, Luther has to be prepared. It's right here, in the conflict between these two genius-IQ villains that Paul Cornell's style comes into true form. It's a battle of intellects, as Lex has to find ways to thwart Gorilla Grodd. One of the oddest, and uniquely Paul Cornell ideas, is that Gorilla Grodd can eat a person's brain and gain their knowledge. (As far as I know this is a new element to the character. Not necessarily out of character, but just bizarre and twisted enough to be an acceptable change in his persona.) Grodd decides he wants to eat Luthor's brain, and even comes charging at him in the jungle wielding a huge spoon. It's these kind of slap-stick details that, while ridiculous, is just so charming and delightful that I'll overlook it. Lex of course out-wits Grodd, gets what he wants, and is quick to make his escape. Lex doesn't escape fast enough, though, as Grodd manages to fire a laser gun at Lex at the last second, sending Luthor's body falling down dead. Now the second stroke of genius of Paul Cornell occurs - Lex Luthor is meeting Death of the Endless (From the Neil Gaiman Sandman series), who meets Lex with an umbrella and a smile.

This was an enjoyable issue. It wasn't the best issue - but it has so many charming and intelligent concepts behind it that you just have to smile about it. I am very much looking forward to Death's appearence in the next issue. Not only does she bare some weight in this story line (he is looking for the Rings powered by Death), but it's just a delight to see her in use again. Neil Gaiman is even helping writing Death's dialogue; so the character is going to be handled right.

This issue debuts the new Second Feature series starring another Superman supporting player: Jimmy Olsen. I've really loved Jimmy Olsen stories these past few years. He was perhaps one of the few positive characters to read about in Countdown, and he's been deftly written by James Robinson - who made Jimmy cool again by embroiled him in a great and complex mystery. So I was looking forward to this feature - but have been left supremely disappointed. This story seems to be drawing a lot of inspiration from the more corn-ball adventures Jimmy use to have during the 60s. He had an endless stream of wacky transformations during that time, and such incidents being used again (he's a Genie in this issue for awhile), while not handled as poorly back then, still seem to be taking Jimmy Olsen back to irrelevancy.

A social scene is set up for Jimmy Olsen, giving him two best friends, a new ex-girlfriend, and a rival who works at LexCorp. Except for the girl-friend, who is Chloe Sullivan of Smallville fame - it all seems painfully forced, having these friends and rival pop out of no where - just to be supporting characters TO a supporting character. Are supporting character suppose to have their own supporting characters? It just feels dumb and forced - as if a suitable adventure couldn't be created by focusing on just Jimmy Olsen. It's A 10-page back-up story! Not a regular series! Even as a regular feature in Action Comics, a Jimmy Olsen series doesn't need to be this cluttered with useless cast members. Oh - and the biggest crime of all? Jimmy Olsen is portrayed as supremely lazy. His new girlfriend, Chloe, dumps him because all he does it sit around playing video games. He's essentially just sitting around, waiting for adventure to happen. And in cartoonish form, adventure does come to his door step - like an alien invasion.

Awhile ago there was this awesome scene in a Supergirl issue, where Jimmy Olsen rides a motorcycle and is able to swoop in and rescue a little girl from falling debris. As Jimmy rides away to get closer to the danger, to get photos, the little girl says Jimmy is "Cool." Jimmy is now lazy - and definitely not cool. The entire back-up feature just seems like a joke. And a lazy joke to boot.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event, The Event

Tiring, reading to over and over and over again - huh? Well, that's pretty much what it felt like when the advertising campaign for this series hit. They kept saying the word over and over again - as if it were going to gain more and more meaning every time the word was said. Yet no commercial or ad would give us any clue as what, exactly, the "Event" is!

This series is basically trying to be the next "Lost". What does Lost cater in? Mystery! So of course The Event is catering in nothing but mystery. I watched the first episode to at least find out what all the hype was about. Then, just like their ad campaign - the episode gave us nothing. Someone tries to crash a plane at the President, the plane vanishes - THAT'S IT! The President is supposedly going to release some mysterious group of people from prison. Who are they? What are they? Absolutely no answers. For a premiere depending on "Hooking us" to the plot - they could not have given us any less plot if they tried!

Morbid curiosity pushed me to watch the second episode. At the very least, the second episode did give us a few answers. At least now we know who and what these mysterious people are. They are aliens - apparently with only 1% of difference from us; so they are very similar to humans. The government has been keeping them prisoner because they will not explain where they came from. Apparently there are more of them out there, secretly among us. OK! So, that's at least the beginning of a plot! Why was it so important to premiere this series last week instead premiering it this week as a two-part episode? At least then we would have had some freaking answers!

Anyway - the main hero of the show, Sean Walker is the innocent man caught up in the conspiracy. His girlfriend is missing, all records of her existence are being erased, and he's on the run. What does he have to do with "The Event"? Hell if I know!

The second episode had two conflicting results with me. On the one hand there is an intense sense of urgency which is very fun. Sean trying to keep away from the cops is very entertaining. The political high-stakes action with the President is also very compelling. But they keep interrupting the flow of the story with CONSTANT flashbacks! This is the second result of watching this show - continued frustration!!! You get into the story, start to like it - but then BAM - here's another flash back 5 years ago, 10 years ago, over 60 years ago! Some of it's relevant, like the guy in charge of rooting out the aliens is in fact an alien himself, but other stuff is a complete waste of time, like Sean and his girlfriend meeting for the first time. I can only hope these flash backs stop - because momentum is the key word of this series. If it doesn't get to the damn point, and fast, it's just going to loose momentum and die.

This is definitely not Lost. Lost, while it had mysteries - you never where left without the main point of the show: a group of survivors on an island. Character drama became the core of the series - with the on-going mystery of the island being the vehicle for learning about these characters.

I don't care about the characters on "The Event". I haven't gained any kind of emotional attachment to them, and while it can be said they are attempting to build a foundation for that in these first two episodes -- it fails miserably from the get go, simply because, coming to this show from the start, there has been one and only question on everyone's mind. What, THE HELL is the Event? Anything less than answering that is an automatic disappointment.

Honestly, I'd like to walk away here telling you that I will never watch the series again. Yet, the series did it's job in one way. It's gotten me hooked. But not a good "hook", like a great plot-line, or engaging characters to watch each week. No, no. The "hook" this show is offering is like Crack - and I'm addicted. I'm left still wanting to know what "The Event" is. So, how's that for a recommendation?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Daredevil is being replaced by the Black Panther. After the events of Shadowland (where DD has been corrupted while being Leader of the Ninja Cult "The Hand"), it looks like Daredevil will take a short leave while the Black Panther takes over protecting Hell's Kitchen in his place.

This seems really, really stupid. Not that I don't like the Black Panther - but he seems like such an odd choice to be running around Hell's Kitchen. He's a King, for crying out loud - what kind of plot device is causing him to loose favor in his own country and force him to hang out in Hell's Kitchen? I know his sister has recently taken over the mantle of the the Black Panther - but does that mean he can't stick around there? And what about his wife - Storm? They both have separate super-hero jobs, but if he was in trouble, wouldn't she be by his side?

The way I see it, Marvel is just trying to repeat the success they had when Hercules took over the Incredible Hulk's book. There was a decent amount of build-up to the change-over -- but, the most important factor in why that stunt was successful was because the book was written darn well. "Best Book at Marvel"-level well. So this street-level Black Panther better have that same level of writing if it wants to succeed.

Yet what irritates me most about this change is that a Street-Level Black Panther has been done before! Anyone remember this guy, Kasper Cole?

Years ago the Black Panther title was written by the supremely (I wish he'd come back to comics) talented Christopher Priest. He was under appreciated as a writer at Marvel (and even by some fans) who kept pegging him as black writer - and was thus marginalized by being given mostly black characters to write.

When the book was in trouble after 49 issues, it was on the verge of cancelation. So Priest came back with a new Black Panther who would tackle the Streets - and who would hopefully be more relatable to fans. The Peter Parker-esq Kasper Cole was a police offer trying to support his family - and ran into the Black Panther costume. He used it to clean up the streets - and was eventually recruited by the real Black Panther to be his protege. He was given the same powers as the Black Panther. This Street-Level black Panther was actually very cool - and I would have liked to have seen more of him. The character change didn't prove successful, though - as the title was canceled. But Priest came back with his new team book "The Crew"

The Crew was an awesome series, ala the "Three Kings" movie - where you have these separate individuals, with their own goals, coming together. It starred Kasper Cole, now donning a White Tiger costume, the free-lance agent Junta, Jim Rhodes (War Machine), and Josiah X, the son of the Black Captain America.

White Tiger, Kasper Cole

Junta

War Machine

Josiah X

The series only lasted 7 issues, but they where darn good seven-issues. I wish the series had lasted longer, but there was little interest in what many fans called "The Urban Avengers". I wish more people had been able to look past their pre-conceived ideas and try out the series.

Anyway, after that - and the cancelation of Priest's "Captain America and the Falcon" title - he was due to write a Falcon solo-series, but he couldn't stand, as he put it "being sent back to the hood". He deserved more respect as a writer -- instead of pigeon-holing him as a black writer who could only write black characters. I haven't seen him in comics since then, and even his website and blog have gone into disarray. I sure wish he would come back, though. Maybe write his own stuff at another publisher.

Anyway (I trailed off point, there) it seems like Marvel wants to make the Black Panther a street-level drama again. Sure wish they had such an attitude back when Priest was writing. And as for taking over Daredevil's old stomping grounds? It better be well written -- fans are already pretty upset with Daredevil being shoved aside.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I had a tremendously hard time getting to see the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas Special, seeing as it wasn't being offered by Netflix (still isn't). Luckily their competitor Blockbuster was. I only managed to skate by not having to pay another rental-service fee because of their free trail period.

The Christmas Special was just simply spectacular. It had everything you'd want from a horribly dysfunctional Christmas special. It was simply a master piece. But they didn't want to show it on air - so they could make a quick buck. Honestly, if this makes the show more profitable and allows them to continue to be on the air longer - that's fine. But having the DVD unavailable on Netflix (this kind of special release being one of the main reason I even HAVE netflix) - it just irritated me to no end.

Still, I did get to see the Special - and I was especially keen on owning it. So I decided to wait until the Season 5 DVD came out - which, logically, should have the Christmas Special, right??

WRONG! They did not include the Christmas Special, and I am sorely disappointed. I decided just not the buy the season at all. It was a good season - maybe I'll come back to it later when I have more money -- but not having the Christmas Special made this a pass for me. And, seriously - why exclude the Special? The company isn't getting more money from the Christmas DVD anymore - those copies already went out. Now they should logically be cashing in a second time - buy charging an extra $5 on the Season 5 Box Set to include the special. It would have made the DVD a quick sell for me. Instead - I'll look it up later. (Or, you know, loose interest as Season 6 airs and time passes on.)

I just don't get these companies. They have a perfectly prime opportunity to make money - AND please fans, and instead they ignore it. You might reply by saying they did this to make you want to buy the solo Christmas DVD in the first place, instead of being cheap and renting it like I did. But that only makes sense if they plan on having another "Only On DVD Special". As it stands, I hope that's not the case. (I'm not made out of money, and neither is everyone else)

Well, anyway, I did my rant. I doubt my little blog makes much of an impression - but I do wish I could see a few more people upset about this like I am. I looked at a lot of reviews for the season 5 dvd, and couldn't find a single one at least lamenting the exclusion of the Holiday Special.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sometimes I'm very late to get into things. I had been turned off by Matt Fraction's run on Uncanny X-Men, and as a result I ended up ignoring the majority of X-Books in total. I tried getting back into the X-Men during Nation X, right after their cross-over with Dark Avengers, but it failed to keep me very long. Though, while I was trying to get into the X-Men again, I decided to give X-Force a go. I was just shocked by the quality and boldness of the title. What I once considered an excuse for Wolverine to have another title to star in - turned out to be the best X-Title out there. So I jumped onboard and was floored by both the art and storytelling. Then it quickly ended, with the writers announcing they where leaving, and this great new title for me was suddenly gone. A new reboot for X-Force was quickly announced - but I dismissed it almost immediately. Uncanny X-Men wasn't working for me, and I needed to drop some titles from by pull list at the time - so this new X-Force wasn't going to have a chance with me.

Then, curious thing happened, there was a week last month where only two issues, for me, where coming out. The newly rebooted Wolverine was out that week, so I decided to give it a try. Despite his over-use, Wolverine is still a great character - and I was very pleased with the depth of storytelling the issue was entailing. I've actually been able to add some books to my list - so Wolverine got added. Then I kept thinking and seeing more about this new "Uncanny X-Force". They say the focus of the title is going to be a mission to finally kill Apocalypse. I absolutely love Apocalypse as a villain - and with Cable's recent death, it seemed like a prime opportunity for someone else to take up the cause of ridding the Marvel U of the worst and most powerful mutant. The writer, Rick Remender, is unknown to me, so he's a bit of a gamble - but I've been liking his choice of characters on the team, especially a Grant Morrison-Era favorite: Fantomex. And, you know, honestly - I also decided to try Uncanny X-Force because I missed out being on the ground floor of the last X-Force title. So I'd like to be here for the ground floor of this new X-Force series.

Marvel has still failed to keep me on the X-Men band-wagon, but these ancillary titles, like X-Factor, Wolverine, and Uncanny X-Force are a good first step.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I grew up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was a great show back when I was a kid. I might not look back at the cartoonish 80s cartoon with as much love as I use to have for it - but now being an adult I found that the Turtles had matured along with me. FoxKids put out an updated series which drew more from the original source material - creating a truly wonderful series drawing on the classic stories Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman created together.

Unknown to me, though, the Ninja Turtles comic series was actually still continuing -- as Peter Laird created Volume 4 of TMNT. When I finally read this series, I was amazed. It was this perfect blend of indy-style comics with recognizable characters. The lives of the Turtles where put in a new unique situation - where aliens (the Utroms) came to Earth to forge a relationship with humans. The Turtles sort of get caught in the middle of this, but ended up benefiting from the situation - as for the first time ever, they are able to walk about in broad daylight, with everyone assuming they are simply aliens, like many other visiting aliens to Earth.

What was most unique about Laird's continuation of the Turtles was that he essentially broke the family apart. No longer teenagers, the four Turtles broke off to do their own things. This was primarily because Splinter passed away from a heart attack. So the four Turtles begin their own separate adventures. Raphael got mutated into a giant monster Turtle. Donatello became involved with the Utroms, even discovering some lost Utroms in the jungles. Don also got shrunken down to miniature size. Michelangelo ended up in space along with a group of Triceratons. And Leonardo discovered a portal to an alternate dimension where people from all over the multi-verse came to battle each other in a tournament.

The Turtles where not the only ones having their own story-lines, as April O'Neil probably had the most controversial storyline of them all. Back when the original Turtle comics where being made there was a Donatello One-Shot where he met Jack Kirby, renting a room in April's place. He possessed a magical crystal that allowed his drawings to come alive. Don and Kirby got sucked into the world of Kirby's drawings and had an adventure. It was one of those defining and classic stories from the Laird/Eastman era. Now Laird was picking up on that storyline, as April accidently discovers that she was created by that magical crystal. Being one of one the more normalizing parts of the Turtles lives, this change in April's origins proved controversial and unpopular. Though, I have to say, I thought it was at least interesting. And April wasn't short of more mundane issues - like being married to Casey Jones and trying to help raise Casey's daughter Shadow.

This fourth volume of the Ninja Turtles was accompanied by a revival of "Tales of the TMNT". It featured different writers and artists, creating an anthology series of stories. Several plot-lines from the main book where bounced off and continued here. The issues I most enjoyed where the ones drawn my the main series artist Jim Lawson. I simply adore his art style - and since the main title was bi-monthly, and sometimes late, I suppose this allowed Lawson to do some more issues in "Tales of the TMNT" They where usually one-off stories - but there where also several instances of Lawson drawing a 4-issue mini series featuring a single Turtle. Leonardo, being temporarily blinded, went on a journey on the mind - going back to ancient Japan. Raphael, along with Casey's daughter Shadow, went on an adventure into a magical world of vampires, werewolves and demons. It was all strange, exotic, fun - and not you're typical Turtle stories.

All of the diverse plot-lines of the regular series, sadly, where never resolved. Peter Laird decided to try selling the Turtle comic as a digital-download. The issues where free - but I honestly was not a fan on trying to read my favorite comic on the computer. I tried a out a few issues, but ultimately stopped reading. And it was such a shame - as the series delivered on so many unique aspects. The art by Jim Lawson was to die for. It was unlike any Turtle series you've read - as it remained tightly woven to the original comics continuity - and was very introspective. I only wish I had jumped onto the title sooner - because, before I knew it, the series was gone. When Laird sold the TMNT rights to Nickelodeon he decided to end Volume 4 all together. So all those diverse plot-lines the four brothers where on? Unresolved. He has the option of still doing the series, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Tales of the TMNT continued on for a little while longer, but eventually ended as well. I hope, someday, Laird might consider coming back, if not to just complete the story he began (and at least return Raph and Don back to normal) - but, on the plus side, this new direction of the Turtles can remain alive and active in my mind. It was simply a wonderful and thoughtful book, and it reminded me, after all the TV Series, Movies, Action Figures and Lunch Boxes -- the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were still, at it's core, an Indy book.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

A new Kamen Rider series has begun, titled 'Kamen Rider OOO". (That's just the letter "O" three times, not zeroes) The new gimmick of this series seems to have to do with token-like items. OOO's bike even comes from a "Rider Vendor" - where you place a token in a vending machine, and the machine transforms into a motor cycle. Beyond that I don't know much else about the series - except that it looks very cool. (I have to wait until the series is subtitled) Here's a description of the beginning of the series from Wikipedia:

"Eiji Hino is a man who has no dreams, no job, and no family. When animal-like monsters called Greeed awaken after their 800 year slumber to attack humans and feed off of their desire, a bird-type Greeed called Anku gives Eiji a belt and three Medals to fight the Greeed so he can become the predestined Multi King. This allows Eiji to become Kamen Rider OOO. The mysterious Kougami Foundation approaches him and begins assisting him in his fight against the Greeed, but their true motives are not clear. When Eiji fights for the first time, he starts to realize what it means "to be alive"."

Here are some images of the series and a video of the opening which you can find below:

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Korea is known for a lot of things. It's a country literally divided between it's self, with North and South being so different. Korea is also known as a rapid adaptor of new technology. They are known for being rabid fans of Starcraft, which is a national sport. Korea, however, is not known for Westerns. Until now!

This movie takes you on a wild and crazy ride. Set in Manchuria during the 1930s, there is a treasure map that everyone is seeking out. Korean revolutionaries, the Japanese Army, and any number of gangs of thieves and killers all want this map. The main protagonists of the film are the main focus. Park Chang-yi (the Bad) is hired to steal the map from dignitaries on a train. At the same time Yoon Tae-goo (the Weird) robs the same train, unexpectedly obtaining the map. Park Do-won (the Good) is a bounty hunter after Chang-yi and ends up caught in the chase for the map and the life of his bounty.

The whole movie is a wild set piece worthy of any American Western, with locations like a Ghost Market (where thieves sell and trade) allowing for some spectacular shoot outs. This might not be the American Wild West, but the desert quality and feeling to the entire area is very evocative of the Western-Genre sensibilities. The action, I might also add, looks like it's primarily physical and grounded. There might be a whole lot of dramatic dead-on gun shots, but there's no fantastical action or CGI effects. These are physical stunts and explosive effects - and it looks truly beautiful looking.

The movie ends with a fantastic race to the finish line, to find the fabled buried treasure. Seeing the insane amount of horses and jeeps all racing towards and single goal (while trying to blow each other away) was a fantastic climax to the action in the movie thus far.

The end of the line for the three main characters concludes with a three-way duel. Supposedly different endings, of who survived, where distributed to different markets.

This is simply a fantastic movie - and I urge anyone to rent or buy it. Warning, though - it's only in subtitles. Though it's an easy pace to read, get all the information you need, and still enjoy the action.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I really must not have been paying attention, because I looked at Marvel's November solicitations - and suddenly realized that Atlas wasn't listed. What? One of my favorite Marvel books is taking a month off? That's what I thought - but the worst is actually true, it's been canceled. Apparently Jeff Parker decided to end the series himself instead of Marvel pulling the plug. Low sales were the main factor. I really don't know what to say to that, expect to swear and dwell on yet another disappointment in life. The series was simply soooo good. I got into it late, but I quickly became a big fan of Atlas, even getting the Gorilla Man mini-series.

I really wish Parker had given the series more of a chance. Marvel seemed to be chipping in and promoting the series - lining it up as one of the Heroic Age titles. They even put out a reprint of the first issue for $1. Five issues isn't enough time for people to realize what's there and jump on. They might have even been waiting for the end of the first arch, and then jump onboard for the second arch.

Then again, people where given plenty of opportunity to jump onto the series. They had cross-overs with the X-Men, the Avengers -- the Classic Avengers. There was plenty of opportunity for people to catch on. I guess just not enough people did.

I said before that my natural inclination is to dwell on the negative. I want to dwell on the negative -- but I'm more thinking "at least it was a fun ride". There are TPBs of the series still available. I haven't gotten them yet. Maybe it can stand as another stellar finite piece of comic work. Still, natural inclination...

Here's a link to my last post about Agents of Atlas, when I was excited about getting onboard the series. I have some great art in the post, which you can see what a visual treat the series was.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Gail Simone came onto Deadpool during a very interesting time in DP's history. The series seemed to be going through some growing pains, attempting to draw in new readers with mini-events, like Deadpool joining Weapon X - and then later coming back from the dead, Reign of the Supermen-style. Gail Simone then come onto the book with art by UDON studios. It was nothing short of magic. The writing was incredibly deft and hilarious - giving Deadpool the kind of stories all of us fans knew he deserved. Yet before Gail had even come onto the book, plans where already in motion to change Deadpool into a new series. Simone had time to prepare some plot-points in early issues to help with this transition. Though it only lasted for 5 issues, her Deadpool storyline was one of the best the series had ever seen.

Deadpool

It all begins with Deadpool on a mission to kill 4 top Japanese Mob bosses. In one mistaken fall through a skylight Deadpool fired randomly as he fell - only to find he had killed all four targets. He became ridiculously famous in the mercenary world. Jobs are coming in left and right; Deadpool is even able to get himself an office, a loyal secretary named Sandi, and a homeless bum assistant. Unknown to Deadpool, the mission he's so famous for wasn't done by him, like he thought. The killing bullets, which he thought he had fired, where actually shot by an aristocratic german assassin called The Black Swan. The Black Swan lures Deadpool to germany to exact his revenge for taking the credit. Swan has a unique power - the ability to move, erase, and delete memories from a person's mind. He intends to leave Deadpool a drooling idiot and sends him back to American to suffer the indignity of loosing his mind.

Black Swan's plan doesn't go exactly like he expected, as Deadpool recovers more or less intact. Swan's agent, Jiro, follows Wade to keep tabs on him. Jiro has a personal stake in this, as his brother was one of the Mob Bosses he thinks Deadpool killed. He reports that the mind virus hasn't worked as planned, though there are signs that his mind has been effected, like him calling guns "doorknobs". Deadpool goes on with life as usual taking on new mercenary missions.

Some of these missions where truly hilarious, like trying to cut off the Rhino's horn for an aphrodisiac - and also trying to stop a Disco-hating killer from assassinating Dazzler.

The Rhino, in particular, gets shrunken down during these missions - and Deadpool keeps him around on a key chain, before eventually flushing him down the toilet.

The effect of the Black Swans' mind virus quickly becomes worse, when deadly headaches begin to incapacitate Deadpool. Wade learns from his fellow mercenary Taskmaster about the Black Swan - and then goes on a one way mission to finish things with him. Deadpool confronts Swan in his mansion in Germany. Jiro finds out that the Black Swan was the one who really killed his brother, so the Swan stabs him in the chest. Deadpool came with a bomb - intending to take Swan down with him. The whole mansion blows up in a fiery explosion, with Deadpool presumed dead.

Agent X

I don't know why Marvel decided to so radically change Deadpool. He wasn't as popular as he is these days, so sales might not have been as good. For better or worse the title was changing, and luckily Gail Simone brought her A-Game to the table in creating another Merc with a mouth.

Agent X is a scarred amnesiac man. He appears out of no-where and find Sandi, Deadpool's former associate. Sandi believes that Alex is actually Wade, alive but without any memory. Taskmaster is called in, and he agrees that it is Wade, because he possesses a healing factor exactly like Deadpool's. Also like Deadpool, he has the same humorous personality. Agent X takes the name Alex Hayden. He has no memories, but he has a driving desire to be the world's greatest assassin. With Sandi's help Alex is trained by Taskmaster. Taskmaster instantly dislikes Hayden - and beats him mercilessly day after day. It's only suddenly that Alex begins being able to fight back, and out of nowhere can preform highly complex fighting maneuvers. Taskmaster is unsure who Alex really is, weather he's Deadpool or not.

After being trained, Hayden sets out to be a mercenary; for his first task he is payed with the rights to an amusement park. Alex loves this, deciding to make the place his home. Along with Sandi, Taskmaster, and Outlaw - Alex forms Agency X.

Hayden, though, gets into a deep mess against the surviving members of the Japanese Mobsters. Thinking that Hayden is Deadpool, they send a virtual army of killers to take Hayden down. It's only through the combined forces of Agent X, Taskmaster, and Outlaw that these forces are fought back against - and some cleaver thinking allows Agency X clear their names with the Japanese Mobsters.

Deadpool Returns

Gail Simone was having problems with the editor and left the series by issue #7. The series would have ended right there, if not for the idea of have some fill-in writers and artists continue the adventures of Alex Hayden. These fill in where not very memorable, with the exception of a fantastic two-parter written by Evan Dorkin. Daniel Way even wrote a fill in issue here, though nothing was going to save the series from cancelation after such disappointing tales. Unless, of course, Marvel got the wacky idea to bring Gail Simone and UDON back to do a finale three issue stint. (Which they did.)

The Black Swan returns and brings a friend along with him. Appearing before Hayden and his friends, Deadpool is revealed as alive - and, more importantly, not Alex. Confused over the whole situation, the Swan explains. During the explosion that was to kill him and Deadpool, his powers of shifting memories unexpectedly expanded, allowing him to shift powers around as well. Deadpool's healing factor is seemingly shared with Black Swan and the deceased body of Jiro - and also many of their personalities and memories as well. This all gave birth to Alex Hayden, who's actually the body of Jiro, revived and mixed in with the talents and personality of Swan and Deadpool. Wishing to undo this musical chairs of personalities - Alex and the group agree to switch all the personalities back to their proper place. While doing the transfer, Black Swan finds he's able to drain both Deadpool and Hayden to make himself even more powerful. Now revived with their right memories intact, Agent X and Deadpool team up to defeat the Black Swan.

The Agent X series ended there, with Deadpool next being partnered with Cable in a new series. While Gail Simone didn't get to write as much Deadpool material as could have been - she still delivered on an incredible series. Deadpool is currently now much more popular, so I don't think we'll ever see his book so re-arrange like this again. Agent X still makes some appearances in later Deadpool issues, though regrettably he is made morbidly obese. He's trying to loose weight, having lost 3 pounds thanks to Jenny Craig. Not the most dignified of ends for a character Simone made so cool.